'Police initiative will open scope for harassment of drivers'

AL Quadros, who heads the Taximen’s Union, is not enthused about the police initiative to make cab drivers part of intelligence gathering. In an interview to DNA, he said the idea sounds good but the ground reality in Mumbai is different, which will make its implementation difficult.

What is your take on the police initiative?
It seems to be a good idea. But the ground realities in Mumbai are very different from that of Gulf countries. When a driver gets beaten up or robbed, it takes more than six hours to get a police case registered. Given how things stand here, the move will open up scope for more corruption and harassment of taxi drivers.

Wouldn’t it of help since terrorists are known to use cabs?
How will this work? In the Gateway, Zaveri Bazaar, blast case the terrorist had sent a family with woman and children along. Who can tell that a family is going to carry out an act of sabotage? Do we have the power to check anything if we find it suspect? If we try doing that people will beat us up and the same cops will watch the fun.

But this will also help the cabbies who are more vulnerable…
That’s not true. They are as vulnerable as you and me. Yes, cabs have been targeted in terror attacks… even in the 26/11 attack two cabs were targeted. But we still feel the initiative will open doors to more problems then helping us find solutions.

What is the way out then?
We need to clear out the mess on our streets. Roads should be cleared of parked private cars. There should be a widespread network of cameras in public places, and the police should have a free hand to do good old policing. Once that happens, then they will not need additional eyes and ears.